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Win Ends It On High Note

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By JOEY JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 8, 2007

After a largely disappointing senior season, Pittsburgh defensive end Joe Clermond (Chamberlain) had a night to remember last Saturday.

So did all the other Panthers.

Pittsburgh (5-7) registered an inexplicable upset, stunning No. 2-ranked West Virginia 13-9 at Morgantown, W.Va., preventing the 28-point favorite Mountaineers (10-2) from playing in the BCS Championship Game.

"I will never forget the feeling I had when that clock ran out," Clermond said. "It was like we had just won a championship. We were all whooping and hollering. I ran out to midfield and jumped up and down.

"Nobody thought we could do it. But we shut them down. We matched their intensity, played assignment football and were on all the details. It was amazing."

Clermond, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive captain, turned in one of the best games of his career.

He had eight tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, one sack and one forced fumble.

West Virginia, which came into the game averaging 41.6 points and 474.8 yards per game, was limited to 183 total yards. The Mountaineers had 104 yards rushing, their lowest total since 2001.

Clermond was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.

Two days later, he made the All-Big East second team, repeating his honor from 2006. Clermond led Pittsburgh in sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (13). His 53 tackles ranked fourth on the team. He finished with .875 sacks per game, ranking him 12th nationally and third in the Big East.

"It was a great way to go out, but I wish there was another game for me to play," Clermond said. "We went through a lot this season, but I feel like we helped set the foundation for Pitt to get back up there."

Clermond will play in the Hula Bowl all-star game, hoping to make an impression on NFL scouts. He graduated in August, earning a degree in rhetorical communication.

Only six years ago, Clermond was part of Coach Billy Turner's Chamberlain team that reached the Class 5A state final, losing to Naples.

"Six years? It seems like another lifetime," said Clermond, one of the many success stories from that team:

•Defensive lineman Brodrick Bunkley became an All-ACC choice at Florida State and was drafted in the first round by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2006.

•Wide receiver Greg Lee became an All-Big East player for Pittsburgh, then played for the Arizona Cardinals.

•Wide receiver Brian Clark played at N.C. State and played one season for the Denver Broncos before landing with the Bucs.

•Linebacker Oliver Hoyte played at N.C. State, becoming the ACC's leading tackler and making the Dallas Cowboys, where he was shifted to fullback.

Clermond wants to join his former teammates in the NFL. It's too early to know if that is a realistic pursuit.

But for the moment, there's the satisfaction of earning a degree, becoming a starter and key contributor, then having one especially memorable evening to cap a college career.

"It was a character-building season, and our team showed that is has a lot of character," Clermond said. "They say you always remember your last game, to not hold anything back, so we got exactly what we were looking for.

"That was a quiet, quiet crowd at the end. It was different than two years ago, when we left on the bus and all those West Virginia fans were throwing things at us. They still threw things at our bus the other night after the game, but there was nothing they could do to upset us. We got what we were after. I'm going to remember this for a long, long time."

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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